To be Hokage
by itzmouldy
Summary: Set six years after events in the anime. Amidst the attack of a new and unexpected enemy, will Naruto be able to achieve his dream? (Spoilers for anime)
1. Troublesome Mission! Is he back?

To be Hokage

The late afternoon sun gave the unusually silent back compound of the Konoha Academy a lazy, golden haze. Shadows, long and languid, stretched across the open field, its sandy surface compacted by generations of running, jumping, laughing Academy students. The trees surrounding the field rustled softly in the evening breeze, whispering their secrets amongst themselves. One tree in particular, though, seemed to stand apart - it whispered to itself, talked to itself, and to the swing that creaked on its strong, sturdy branch. Then the sun dipped and the tree seemed to burst into flame as the last orange rays of the day were flung upon it. Then the flame spread to the rest of the trees, as if a fire were consuming all of them, their roots, their trunks, their branches, their leaves - and all of them shone with a magnificient orange glow.

A lone figure stood under the tree, his clothes an unseemly clash of black and orange rivaled only by his unruly blonde hair. One of his hands ran up and down the well-worn rope that secured the wooden swing to its gnarled support. It was a feeling he was familiar with; after all, much of the wearing had probably been done by him. He smiled a little - this had been the playground of his childhood. No - he shook his head. It had been more than that. The Academy had been his childhood. It had been here, sitting on this swing by himself, watching the rest of the kids play, that he had truly grown up. It'd been here that he'd learnt to deal with the pain of solitude and rejection - the kind of pain that could bring a grown man to his knees. And it'd been here that he'd told himself that he would prove himself to all of them - that he would be Hokage.

"Naruto!"

The figure turned around to see a pink-haired girl advancing towards him determinedly.

"Sakura-chan!" he flashed his trademark grin. "What's up?"

"What do you mean, what's up? You were supposed to report to Godaime-sama right after the mission. Where did you go? You're lucky I covered up for you - she was furious that the report was late!" Sakura shook her fists at her friend.

Naruto scratched at his head. "Uhm...Sorry Sakura-chan. I'll treat you to ramen-"

"You idiot! I don't want ramen! I want you to-" Sakura stopped short, rage preventing her from coming up with a suitable means of its own appeasement.

"Come on," she ended with a sigh of exasperation.

"Come on where?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"You idiot! Ichiraku of course! The rest are there anyway."

Naruto smiled brightly at the kunoichi as they walked off together. And Sakura could not help but smile back. Naruto was an idiot, but one thing was for sure - no one could stay angry with him for long when he was smiling like that. Exasperated, maybe, but not angry.

Behind them the swing finally slowed to a halt as the shadows lengthened across it, shrouding it in the murky grey of dusk.

TROUBLESOME MISSION! IS HE BACK?

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They were known as the Rookie Nine. People emphasised the "The" when they talked about them, much like they did "The" Sannin. Well, there were twelve of them and they were hardly rookies now, but the name had stuck from their Genin days. It was just like them anyway to have such a ludicrous and inappropriate name. But the name belied one of the strongest batches of ninja Konoha had ever seen. It wasn't like they'd graduated from the academy at 3, become Chuunin at 4 and joined ANBU at 5 - no, their strength wasn't anything so obvious as that. It was of a more subtle nature, an invisible strength borne of the hardest struggles together, forged in the heat of fighting against each other, for each other, built on an uncanny understanding that sometimes surprised even them.

Dinner at Ichiraku was a tradition that'd started with the ramen freak - Naruto and Sakura often ate there after training or work, and he sometimes dragged Shikamaru along. Shikamaru usually had dinner with Chouji anyway, so he'd come with his ex-teammate. Even if Ino managed to come up with an excuse for Sakura she couldn't bring herself to miss out on an Ino-Shika-Cho outing, so she came too. Kiba and Shino both knew how Hinata felt about Naruto, and they also knew how shy she'd be without the both of them, so they'd come as well whenever Hinata casually asked if they were free for a ramen dinner. And there was Lee, who didn't like ramen as much as he did Sakura and he somehow dragged Neji and Tenten along. So there was the Rookie Nine - dinner after dinner, year after year, each of them going their separate paths, but always bound by the village they loved more than anything else and the friendship they'd established since those days in the Chuunin exam.

"How did the mission go, Naruto?" Lee asked.

Naruto slurped down a long strand of ramen and grinned. "Not too bad. I think the old hag's been going easy on me."

Shikamaru frowned slightly at that.

"What?" Chouji asked through a mouth of beef.

"Yeah, why the face?" Naruto asked. Immediately, everyone quietened down. Naruto was their unspoken leader but Shikamaru's opinion was never taken lightly - it did, after all, have the backing of a 200-IQ.

"No...I was just thinking of my own troublesome mission..."

"Every mission is troublesome to you, Shikamaru!" Ino rolled her eyes.

"No, this one was different...It was strange." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he recounted the events of the past week or so.

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It was supposed to be a simple, straightforward B-rank mission - retrieve a scroll which had been stolen. Ordinarily, this would have gotten a C-ranking, but the scroll in question was an ancient manuscript of historical value to the Fire Country and the job had been commissioned by the Fire-daimyo himself. So, Tsunade had upped the ranking and put one of her best Jounin on it. It was a solo mission, but most of the Konoha ninja had only just returned from the Mist insurgency and they were all taking a break. It must have occurred to Tsunade that Shikamaru himself had only taken a day off, but having read the brief, Shikamaru figured that it was more trouble talking himself out of it than taking on the mission.

So he made his way to the capital of the Fire Country and its National Historical Museum where the scroll had been kept on display. The daimyo personally welcomed "their esteemed emissary from the Hidden Leaf Village, whose valiant efforts are evermore the bulwark of the country" but after the required protocol, Shikamaru plunged straight into the investigation.

The guards, having made their usual rounds in the morning, had found the display case razed to the ground and its contents missing. However, nothing unusual had happened in the night - the only way into the museum was through them, and they hadn't seen anybody at all the entire night. Examination of the display case revealed what Shikamaru had suspected - the case had been burnt by a very strong fire, one hot enough to melt even the glass display. He then went on to interview the guards.

"Come to think of it, I did go to the toilet to take a crap, if it matters at all." The first guard admitted.

"A crap? That was fast..." the second guard muttered.

"How long were you at the toilet?" Shikamaru asked.

"About fifteen minutes...maybe slightly more."

"No way! You were back right after that drunk left! And he came right after you'd gone!"

"Maybe you fell asleep!"

"I certainly did not!"

Shikamaru looked at the both of them as they began arguing. "Drunk?" he asked.

"Yeah, a drunk came by - he looked really wasted, so I just told him to leave."

"Wasted?"

"Yeah his eyes were really red and bloodshot or something - I couldn't see clearly in the moonlight. Must have been drinking for days."

Having decided that he'd heard enough, Shikamaru decided to examine the museum again. Apart from traces of dirt and earth (which were in themselves nothing to make a fuss about - people came in with muddy shoes all the time) along the route to the case, there was nothing in particular. It'd take no more than about three minutes for an average ninja to get from the entrance to the display case. Another five to cut, and another three back out. The one who'd gone to the toilet was right. It'd been fifteen minutes that he'd been away. The drunk was the key then. Genjutsu, probably. But the guard had insisted that he'd been awake all the time. So it wasn't just simple Nemuri-type jutsu then. And it involved warping the person's sense of time...

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"So? What's the conclusion?" Kiba urged. "It's getting pretty late."

"It ended normally enough. I found footprints near the back of the museum. The mud on them seemed to match the dirt found in the museum and I traced them to this person who was hurrying out of the city. It was found to be on him, and he was arrested for theft."

"Why did he do it?" Lee asked.

"Don't know. He insisted right till the end that he didn't take it, that he was set up."

The eleven of them pondered the case for a moment, then prepared to bid each other goodnight and leave for their respective homes.

"Oh, and he asked something really strange too...the daimyo, just as I was leaving, he asked if Sa-sasuke had returned to Konoha since the assault on Sound and Akatsuki."

At that, everyone froze. There was a silence, then Sakura asked hesitantly, as if afraid of the answer. "What did you say?";

"I told him that he hadn't been back for some time."

It was then that Naruto knew that Sakura hadn't forgotten their ex-teammate, nor was she going to forget him for some time, if ever. With that, the Rookie Nine made their separate ways home.

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Naruto walked Sakura back, as he always did whenever he got the chance.

"Say...Naruto...would you be angry if I asked you whether you think of Sasuke?" Sakura asked softly.

Naruto turned to look at her. Her pale, pink hair seemed a luminescent veil under the moonlight.

"Angry? No, why should I be? Of course I think of him sometimes. He- he and Kakashi-sensei, and of course you...when we were together...those were some of the best moments in my life." Naruto locked his hands behind his head and looked up at the stars in the sky. "But he made his decision. And I respect that."

"Naruto...It was him, wasn't it."

Sakura didn't mean it as a query - they both knew it for a fact. Most probably Shikamaru knew it too. Sasuke had gained the Mangekyou Sharingan in the fight with Itachi - and that was the only way anyone could use Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu.

"Why would he do it?" Naruto asked reasonably, though he knew with a sinking feeling that it couldn't be anyone else.

Sakura didn't answer and they walked the rest of the journey to Sakura's house in silence.

"Thanks, Naruto. You really don't have to, you know," Sakura said at her doorstep.

"Hey, if I don't maybe one day I'll find that you've run off to join some village or other," Naruto said with a grin.

Sakura rolled her eyes, attempting a grin to show that she appreciated Naruto's attempt.

"Night."

"Night."

Naruto had turned to leave when a voice emerged from the shadows.

"There's more to the scroll than meets the eye."

"You held something back just now, didn't you?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, who fell into step beside him.

"Naruto...that scroll - it wasn't any ordinary manuscript. It was a contract scroll - used in Kuchiyose."

"You read it?"

"Yeah, when I found it on the person. There's no way it'd be of use to anyone other than a ninja. And it'd have to be a ninja with quite some chakra."

"What was the summon?"

There was a tense silence, as if Shikamaru were gathering the courage to say it. Naruto turned to look at his friend.

"What was it?"

"When I gave my report to Tsunade-sama...Naruto, you should have seen her. She nearly freaked out. Then she said that she was going to put me in charge of an S-rank investigative mission, commissioned by her."

"Shikamaru, what was it?";

"It didn't have a name. From what I managed to read, it works the same way as Edo Tensei. By using human sacrifices. But that's not all. The thing - it's more evil than Shukaku, or your Kyuubi, or even Manda. It's sole purpose is to destroy."

After a while, Naruto spoke up. "The old hag knows all this?"

"She does."

"Shikamaru, take care of yourself. You may be in danger. And...keep the Sasuke thing to yourself."

Then both of them flitted into the dark streets, headed for the comfort of home.

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Naruto as voiceover: What the hell's going on dattebayo? Why's Sakura running after...?

Scene: Sakura leading Kakashi, Gai, Kiba and Shino through the forest.

N: Who are those people Neji and Lee are fighting?

Scene: Lee and Neji, battle-weary and panting heavily

N: And what the hell's that dattebayo!

Scene: Two coffins rising from the ground.

N: Next episode: Konoha attacked! Enemies new and old


	2. Konoha Attacked! Enemies new and old

Days passed without much incident as life, training and missions continued. Konoha's overwhelming power in the Mist insurgency had consolidated its position as the strongest village. Without a doubt, it had fully recovered from the crippling disaster of the Chuunin War, and some said, become even stronger. But Tsunade would never let them rest, not Kakashi and the rest of the senior Jounins, not the Chuunins, not even the newly-graduated Genins, and certainly not the Rookie Nine. There were those who complained that she worked them twice as hard as Sandaime-sama ever did, but no one raised any protests - it was only from a position of strength that peace could be negotiated, and Konoha was looking forward to the day when they could finally put down their kunai and shuriken and think instead about a future of tranquil peace.

Then, all of a sudden, before the village could fully catch its breath, a new wave of danger approached.

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KONOHA ATTACKED! ENEMIES NEW AND OLD

"Hokage-sama!" a messenger burst into Tsunade's office.

Sensing the urgency of the matter, she motioned for him to begin his report.

"Hokage-sama! The daimyo of Fire Country demands that you hand any member of the Uchiha clan over to the Federal Tribunal. They will be questioned and those found guilty will be executed immediately."

"Guilty of Article 3.7, I suppose?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Possession of forbidden jutsu."

"So, it's finally happened. Shikamaru wasn't fast enough, then." Tsunade thought for a moment. Then, "How long do we have?"

"It says within three days, or the daimyo will take matters into his own hands."

"Call Sakura in. Tell the guards at the gate that when Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji return, they're to see me immediately. I want Shino and Kiba prepped and ready to go - A-rank tracking mission."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The messenger wheeled to go.

"Wait-" Tsunade called as he opened the door. "I think we'd better have Kakashi and Gai along as well."

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Within minutes, Sakura, the hunting team and the two senior Jounin had assembled in the Hokage's office.

"Listen. The daimyo wants Uchiha. That means they want Sasuke."

"Tsunade-sensei- is it about-" Sakura stammered.

"Don't ask any questions, Sakura. Right now, I want Sasuke within two days. Kakashi, you're to assist Shino and Kiba with the tracking if need be. Otherwise, you and Gai are back-up. Sakura will be the team leader - all four of you take orders from her. All information we have pertaining to him can be found here. Read it, then destroy it." She tossed a scroll at Sakura.

"I don't expect Sasuke to put up any resistance - he's Leaf as well, and we'll stick by him, at least until we know for sure that he's guilty. But if he does, that's where Gai and Kakashi will come in. You may leave."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Sakura said. Then five of them were off - in a situation not unlike one years before, Kiba noticed.

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Shikamaru was about to open the door to the Hokage's office when a messenger dashed past him into the office.

"Hokage-sama! An unknown assailant has killed a number of our men. Patrols Three and Five were found dead by the next shift. Cause of death: complete disintegration of bodies," he heard the messenger gasp from inside.

Shikamaru entered the office, where he found Neji and Naruto already waiting.

"Hokage-sama! An unknown assailant has killed a number of our men. Patrols Ten and Fifteen were found dead. Cause of death: complete disintegration of bodies," another messenger cried as he entered the office.

"Hokage-sama!" a third messenger entered. "By federal law, the daimyo has given us up till tonight to hand over Uchiha Sasuke, or he will begin a search and destroy mission within Konoha territory. Uchiha Sasuke will be charged for violation of Article 3.8 and summarily executed."

As Shikamaru looked at Tsunade, he could have sworn he saw wrinkles crease her normally baby-smooth, unblemished face. Then they were gone and in place of them was a burning fire in her eyes and a grimness in the set of her mouth.

"Withdraw all patrols into the village proper. Begin Phase One of emergency defense. Do not take any action against Fire personnel without my command - not even in self-defense. If forced to engage, retreat as soon as possible. We cannot afford to make a single mistake now. As for unmarked enemies, engage as per normal but employ utmost caution."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" all three of them stated in unison.

"Shikamaru, how was your progress with Sasuke?" Tsunade turned to him.

"I can only confirm an alibi, though it's a really strong one. There's very little chance he did it - supposedly he wasn't even in Fire Country at the time. Supposedly he's headed in our direction right now, though I don't know why."

Tsunade nodded, considering the new information. "Naruto, you and Shikamaru are to conduct a retrieval operation. The target is the contract scroll. Keep in mind the one in the museum now is probably a dummy. Neji, I wanted you to go with them but for now I'll need some information on our unknown assailants. Your ANBU duties will be handed to your deputy. Take Lee with you, but no more. What I need is information, is that clear?"

Shikamaru frowned. Lee - that meant that Neji was expendable as soon as his Byakugan allowed him to come up with an analysis of the enemy. Lee was the fastest ninja in the village - he would then return with the information if anything happened.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'll leave for the East Quadrant now," Neji said, without the slightest hint of emotion in his voice, as he turned to leave.

"Neji-"

The Hyuuga stopped at the door.

"You once told me it was pathetic and not befitting a shinobi to cheer his teammates on. But, good luck anyway," Naruto called.

"Thanks." And with that he was gone.

"Both of you," Tsunade said. "This mission is of extreme sensitivity. I should have known all along that this would have happened - that we would become too strong for the daimyo to look on passively and do nothing. In a way, this has been my fault. But I know that I can count on both of you."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto and Shikamaru replied.

"Hokage-sama." Naruto turned his head around to flash a wide grin as both he and Shikamaru leapt onto the window-sill, their usual exit-point from the office. "I'm counting on you to take care of my village too."

Tsunade nodded as she watched the pair disappear into the distance.

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"So that's how it is, eh? The daimyo was using the whole scroll thing as a decoy right from the start. His objective was to create an excuse to invade Konoha," Shikamaru remarked as both of them bounded from tree to tree.

"But that doesn't explain how he managed to use Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu, or who this new assailant is."

"The new enemy was probably the product of the summon. But as to who actually did the summoning - my bets are on the daimyo himself."

"But he's not a ninja."

"You don't need to be a ninja to use chakra or summon. Someone could have taught him."

Naruto nodded. He had a bad feeling about this. The Kyuubi in him growled in anticipation. It could smell blood in the air, blood- and death.

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Neji and Lee advanced as speedily as they could without sacrificing stealth. Before long, they'd approached the site where Patrol Ten had been killed. The gruesome remains of the bodies had been left there, as per emergency procedure. Later, these people would be given a hero's funeral. How many such funerals had been given, Lee wondered, in the name of the village? What more was expected of Konoha before it could have its respite? For now, all they could do was fight on - keep fighting, as long as there was strength left in their bodies. Keep fighting, till peace came. Konoha didn't have the mineral resources of the Hidden Sand Village or the Hidden Rock Village; nor did it have the abundant fresh water that Cloud and Mist took for granted. But despite all this, it had struggled on to become the strongest ninja village, one that the other villages deferred to not just because of strength but because of wisdom as well. No - he, Rock Lee, would not be the one to fail Konoha and its legacy!

Lee nodded once as Neji indicated with hand signs that his Byakugan had spotted the target heading for the village, somewhere behind them. How had they missed them? Before he could ask, Neji indicated again that the enemy had disappeared - and then the air before them shimmered and from it stepped four vaguely humanoid figures, whose only human features were the tattered clothes and armour hanging from their bodies. Their eyes were hollow pits, their facial features meshed into a grotesque smudge of flesh.

Lee launched into Konoha Senpuu as Neji began his Jyuken. So, they did have tenketsu.

"Neji! Are they human?"

"Their tenketsu and chakra systems are exactly the same as ours. But as is to be expected, they have far more chakra than should be found in a normal human body. Only Jounins stand any chance against them," Neji answered as he slid and swirled gracefully amidst the brutishly ugly monsters, giving the impression that he was dancing rather than fighting.

As the battle progressed, despite their exceptional teamwork and individual skills, Lee realised that something was wrong.

"Lee-" Neji called.

"Yes, I've realised it too. They're crazy!" Lee exclaimed as his Reppuu pulverised the right arm of one of the creatures. It was as if, knowing that Neji's jyuken had sealed its tenketsu, it sent the sealed portion into Lee's way because it could no longer use it anyway. Suddenly, one of the creatures began glowing red.

"Lee! Run!"

Lee picked Neji up and sprinted as fast as he could towards the village. Then there was a dull explosion from behind.

"No good...I have to open the first gate..." Lee muttered as he felt the heat rushing up to engulf him. With a burst of energy, he opened the Initial Gate - that jolt of speed just barely brought them clear of the shockwave.

Lee turned around to see the blast had cleared everything in its radius. The roots of trees were exposed, smoking stumps that could no longer grow. Suddenly a rage overcame Lee - those trees had taken years to grow! Many of them had been planted by he and his friends in the Academy. What right- what right did anyone have to take away the legacy of Konoha?

"Lee..." Neji said softly.

Lee spun around, only to see the air shimmer and ten of the creatures step out, then ten after that, and ten again.

"Lee...you have to make a break for it. Without me to slow you down their blast can't catch you. We'll aim for one, kill him, then ignite the blast and-"

"No! I won't! " Lee replied heatedly as he began pummeling one of the creatures with a rendan.

"Lee! This is an order! I'm the mission commander!" Neji shouted as he engaged in his own desperate fight.

"Naruto-kun once said...those who don't follow the rules are trash. But you know what? Those who-"

"Shut up, you idiot! You should never listen to _that_ idiot!"

The creatures kept coming, always withdrawing after a blow or two for their fresher comrades, before returning to the fray again so that it was an endless cycle.

"Well, seeing as I've already opened one..." Lee smiled grimly to himself. "Konoha, I promise you - I won't let you down!"

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"Konoha! I promise - I won't let you down!"

Kakashi almost rolled his eye as he saw Gai attempt to strike his trademark pose in the middle of battle. But there was no time for that, and Gai only succeeded in flashing his pearly-whites. The four of them were hard-pressed to keep up with the multitude of bestial creatures all around them.

Sakura had led her team back to Konoha after an incomplete mission, but once through the East Gate they saw that distorted, deformed creatures had begun an attack on Konoha. Sakura had gone ahead to make the report while the four of them had stayed behind to provide support to the village.

"That one, Shino!" Kakashi called, marking his target with a kunai.

Shino launched all the bugs at his disposal at the already-red creature. The bugs went into a feeding frenzy, consuming the chakra that was threatening to explode from its body. Then, bloated bugs began exploding like firecrackers and the detonation was neutralised. The remainder of the bugs returned to his body, awaiting his next command, but there weren't many left of them - maybe enough for one or two more blasts.

"He can't keep this up for much longer," Kakashi thought. "He's almost out of bugs."

"Kakashi, the one known as my eternal rival! Are you giving up already? I would have expected more of you!" Gai called from afar.

"Huh? Gai, you have to speak up - I can't hear you over the explosions," Kakashi replied.

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Sakura entered through the window - Tsunade often told her she hated it but there was no time to waste.

"Hokage-sama, we were unable to find Sasuke. However, we have a note which I have strong reason to believe was written by him." As Sakura handed the note to Tsunade, she attempted to still her trembling hand. A kunoichi had to be strong. And she had been, when they found the note just beyond the village borders. It had been stuck to a tree so that it could not be missed - Sasuke had known they were coming, but he'd deliberately avoided them. He'd deliberately avoided her.

_I will settle the problem with him._

That'd been all the note had said. Sakura had wanted to cry, had wanted to call Sasuke's name in the hopes that he'd turn back, that he'd come to meet them. There'd be three of the original Team Seven, and once Naruto returned they could all be happy together again. But she'd been strong. And she hadn't. Instead, she calmly ordered for them to abandon pursuit and return.

Tsunade looked up at her with a piercing gaze. "Where's the rest of your team?"

"Supporting the village defense."

"Good. Shizune is currently fighting within the village. Replace her, and tell her that she is to take over supervision of the medical ninja."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

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Naruto glanced at the setting sun as they made their way into the daimyo's castle. "Where do we begin?" he asked as he looked around the vast main hall.

"Wherever. We have to be fast - they'll be leaving for Konoha soon. We need to get back before they do," Shikamaru replied. He performed a number of seals, then sunk his hand into the shadow of him cast on the wall.

Naruto nodded. The Nara clan was famous for its skill at espionage. Kagemane was a pretty useful in a fight, especially in the hands of a skilled and creative user like Shikamaru - but more important to the Leaf was this technique. In a building like this, especially with daylight quickly fading, shadows literally existed in every nook and cranny. Kagegan - literally shadow eye - allowed the user to peer through every shadow, thus seeing every room through its shadowed surfaces. An advanced user could allow another person to step through the shadows as well, allowing for a faster sweep of the area. Naruto had worked with Shikamaru numerous times and he was familiar with the process.

Then from behind them a voice called out. "Very good. But did you think you'd be able to find it so easily?"

Both ninja swung around immediately.

"You!" Naruto called. "It was you all along, wasn't it? You were the one who framed Sasuke. You took the scroll yourself!"

The Fire daimyo smiled coldy. "So, I finally get to meet the fabled Kyuubi. You know, Konoha has been plagued by ill-fortune ever since...oh, I don't know, eighteen years ago? When...you were born, maybe? Or when the fox was sealed into you...have you never considered that you're somewhat of a..._magnet_ for violence and death? Naruto-kun?"

"Don't listen to him, Naruto. It's bull!"

"Ah, but Nara, you know it's not. You've been assigned to demonology - you know it's not bull."

Shikamaru looked up from where he was crouching to see that Naruto's hands were shaking slightly. "Naruto! Snap out of it. I believe in you; Tsunade believes in you; everyone believes in you. He's stalling!"

"Yeah." Naruto's voice came out low and threatening, like a growl, his throat quivering in rage. "Thanks. I'm gonna take this bastard down now."

"Oh, no. I don't think so, my dear demon-container. I want to show you why you're wrong when you say that I framed Sasuke. I certainly didn't take the scroll myself. It was..." Then he performed a series of seals - and both Naruto and Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelief. He slammed his hands into the ground and with a great cracking sound, the ground split apart and two coffins slowly rose to their full vertical height. All were unmarked, unlike the Hokage's coffins, but there was no doubt of it - this was one of Orochimaru's darkest and deadliest Kinjutsu: Edo Tensei.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled.

But nothing happened. "Shikamaru? What the hell?"

Sweat was beading down Shikamaru's forehead and he was gritting his teeth but it appeared that he was unable to move.

"What is it you ninja always say - think before using a jutsu, or it'll be used against you? Our dear Nara clan genius here has forgotten to think, it seems, and his shadow binding techniques have been used against him..."

Naruto tried to dash towards the daimyo; the coffins were a done deal and he didn't have the kind of skill or knowledge needed to stop them - all he could hope for now was to prevent the daimyo from investing life energy into the corpses. But he'd taken a step into Shikamaru's jutsu and it now pulled at him, preventing him from running at all. And the daimyo had covered himself totally with the coffins. Both of them could only stare and wonder in horror at what lay behind the coffins.

Then the lids fell open and two corpses stepped forward. Naruto never thought he could have felt so much dread and fear at seeing two human faces.

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N: This guy is crazy!

Scene: Coffin lids opening

Shikamaru's voice: Oei, Naruto, will you hurry up? They're waiting for us

Scene: Shikamaru staring at a scroll

N: But, but! And you're back too!

Scene: Shadow on Naruto's face that looks distinctly like...Sasuke?

N: Next Episode: Battle Rages On! Return of... 


	3. Battle Rages On! Return of?

The daimyo took a step forward, carefully shielding himself with the bodies. Then he plunged a kunai each into the base of their necks.

"You see, Naruto-kun. I did use the Mangekyou Sharingan to get the scroll. But it wasn't Sasuke's I used. No, why settle for less when you can have the elder brother's instead? Isn't that right, Uchiha Itachi?"

"Why have you summoned us, worm?" the figure next to the Uchiha rasped, flicking his long tongue over his lips.

"Why, I'm merely dutifully implementing the lessons you taught me, Orochimaru-sensei..." With that, the daimyo let out a shrieking, madness-filled laugh and disappeared into the falling night.

BATTLE RAGES ON! RETURN OF...

"Very interesting...Naruto-kun. Assuming you can even break free, how do you think you'll fight both of us at the same time? Or did you think the Nara boy over there can help you?" Orochimaru asked in his gravelly voice. Itachi merely looked on impassively.

Naruto attempted to bring his hands under his control. His legs were frozen, but he could still move his hands. It was difficult to synchronise the chakra flow at such a speed, but it was a jutsu he'd been using for six years now.

With a puff, two kage bunshins emerged. One dashed towards the pair of uber-villains, while the other turned around and punched Shikamaru.

"Sorry..." Naruto muttered, as Shikamaru fell unconscious and released the jutsu.

Naruto turned back to see that his bunshin had been vanquished. It was one on two, and these were the S-rank criminals who in their day had terrorised all five major hidden villages, but at least he stood a chance now. That was all he ever needed - a chance. Iruka had given it to him; Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura had given it to him; the Third and the Fifth and Jiraiya and his friends - they'd given it to him; and most importantly, right from the start, Naruto himself had never acknowledged once that he didn't stand one.

He never allowed his gaze to stray above Itachi's neck as he performed Kage Bunshin again. His level of stamina was such that he could expend some energy in order to get a better grasp of the situation - he didn't have Neji's perception, Shikamaru's intelligence or Lee's speed, but he knew he didn't and that was good enough. Orochimaru responded with low-level elemental jutsus - nothing that Naruto himself couldn't counter, but he knew that this was only the beginning. But there was a weakness - Orochimaru's infirmity kept him from performing seals by himself. If Naruto could just break the contact between Itachi and Orochimaru, things'd be much easier. He spun a level-three Rasengan into his hand and dashed toward Orochimaru, trying to get him to dodge.

But Orochimaru's tongue darted out, longer than Naruto had expected, and encircled his waist, then his hand so that the Rasengan fizzled out. And then there were only the spinning wheels of the kaleidoscope-

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"Naruto-kun...you can now watch...the death of Jiraiya again. And again. And again," intoned Itachi emotionlessly.

Naruto was running. No, he wasn't running, he was in the hall fighting Orochimaru and Itachi. But he was running. He was running through the Sound country and he was trying to reach Jiraiya before it was too late.

Too late for what? No, he knew. Too late to tell him that he didn't mean what he said. Too late to take back his words.

Too late to tell Jiraiya that he'd been like a father and a brother and a teacher all rolled into one.

Too late to save Jiraiya from the trap Orochimaru had set for him.

Too late to stop Manda from snapping the spine of the white-haired hermit.

And he was crying and crying and crying and he was ripping Manda apart but he didn't care because Jiraiya was gone and they'd never eat ice-cream together again and he'd never stop the pervert from peeping again and he'd never see Jiraiya gawk at his Sexy form again...and he was crying and crying and dying...

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Then suddenly with a flash of light, Naruto was back on the floor of the hall, bruised, battered, exhausted, but himself once again - in the present.

And then that voice, that cold, proud voice of a _friend_: "Hey, absolute moron. Looks like you need my help. As usual."

Naruto looked up. Orochimaru was licking his lips in that sick way again, and Itachi was staring at his brother with a kind of melancholy numbness. Standing above him, covering all his blind-spots like Kakashi-sensei had taught them -

"Sasuke...you're here...but I thought...?"

"Think? That's a first, dobe. Anyway what say we save the chitchat for later. I think the opponents should be pretty obvious, eh?" Sasuke, in his dark high-collared shirt, smirked before rushing ahead with his Chidori.

And that left Naruto with Orochimaru. Who'd, incidentally, killed Jiraiya.

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As Shikamaru came to, he heard the clash of kunai and explosion of ninja smoke. An intense battle was raging about him and - was that Sasuke? But it seemed that the prodigal prodigy was on their side this time, and Shikamaru knew that he had a job to do. It wasn't the daimyo who'd reversed the jutsu - it was the scroll, he was certain of it. And he knew where it was. Picking himself up, he slid discretely into the corridors, attempting to trace his shadow route to its objective.

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Neji and Lee were exhausted. They'd been fighting for hours, but the thirty or so creatures had only slightly diminished in numbers as Neji managed to seal all of their tenketsu with the Divination Field.

Lee had closed the gates from exhaustion - even his stamina was beginning to run low. A mistake was bound to occur sooner or later, as Neji began losing concentration as well. And there it was - he'd missed one of the points in the hundred and twentieth stroke and that one began to glow red. Neji was weary and he was somewhat numb to the danger that should have aroused in him. He knew that Lee would not go now, but what was the point in both of them dying? But he tried anyway, because he knew Lee still thought that with the both of them they could win. So he began channelling chakra, trying to block Lee, pumping out more chakra than he thought he had left in him; and it grew redder and redder and Neji knew that it was a lost cause, but he continued on anyway, because he knew that he might at least protect Lee, who would then run back, stupid fool he was. If he could blast the chakra outward, with Lee behind him, he might yet keep Lee in the lee of the blast. Neji allowed himself a small grin as he settled on his plan. He wouldn't be able to change the house now, that was up to Naruto as Hokage and Hinata as head of the house. Strange, when had he begun to think of Naruto as Hokage? It was probably that first fight in the Chuunin exams...

Neji was tired, but he didn't let it show. He flung all his chakra through his tenketsu, feeling them rip as the massive flux of chakra rent them apart, yet the heat came on and on, ever so close- his chakra couldn't hold for long now, when suddenly-

Neji's last thought was that with a wall of sand, they might yet survive this fight.

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"You sure enjoy making grand entrances, don't you?" Lee asked as he caught his breath, using the brief respite to regain his energy. The heat wave was slowly dying down, but from behind the cool shade of the wall of sand, they couldn't quite feel it. Gaara would be Gaara - invincible where there was sand. And because the explosion created dirt and sand from bigger pieces of material, it meant that his wall could keep rebuilding itself as long as Gaara maintained the form with his chakra.

"This is an internal affair, you know. You're not supposed to be involved," Lee told him.

"I was just passing by," Gaara replied. Lee grinned.

"Thanks anyway."

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Shikamaru stared at the accursed scroll that lay before him. So that was how it worked. The daimyo opened a portal in his own body, and it served as a conduit for the raw destructive energy that then infested live human sacrifices. The portal was the real summon - and it had to be destroyed as long as they were to stand a chance. Shikamaru tucked the scroll into his pocket and hurried back where he'd come from. Now, all they had to do was win against two of the most powerful ninja of their time.

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"I defeated you once, Itachi. I can do it again," called Sasuke as he met Itachi's wave of black flame with his own.

"You were consumed with revenge and hatred then. That was the only way you could have done it. But now, you're nothing. You're empty."

"Foolish brother. Did you think I got my Mangekyou Sharingan the same way you did? Through betrayal and hatred?"

Then Sasuke prepared Chidori again, for what he hoped would be the final blow in this fight.

"I got it by giving my life for my friends. Through sacrifice, not murder," Sasuke clenched his jaw as he sprinted towards Itachi and his blade of jet flame.

"That is why, foolish brother, you were wrong all the while. That is why I saved you - because that was the only way to defeat you.

"And that is why you killed yourself." Itachi's eyes went blank as Sasuke plunged the Chidori into him. Bereft of the artificial life supporting him, Itachi collapsed to the floor. Sasuke felt a sense of deja vu as he saw the dark rings around his brother's eyes fade into colour and his features gain a countenance of restful bliss. Maybe, now, he could finally return to Konoha.

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Without the ability to form seals, Orochimaru was almost pathetic. Jiraiya, Sandaime, all the sacrifices in the Chuunin war - it was almost hard to believe that their deaths were caused by this insane man.

"Naruto-kun...you've grown pretty strong. It was Tsunade who killed me, but I think you did most of the work. But I never really considered your body...it was only good as a container for filthy demon energy. You were always so...crude and so...alive..." Orochimaru grinned as Naruto pressed the level-six Rasengan into his still heart.

"You know...you're pathetic."

He turned to Sasuke and Shikamaru. "Got a village to protect. Shall we?"

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Tsunade stared out at the chaos raging in the streets. The grotesque creatures had managed to surge in, but it wasn't their attacks that caused the damage - it was the self-destruction mechanism they had in place. Even now, more than a quarter of Konoha was totally flattened, and half of what was left was pitted with holes from the flying debris.

Messengers were flying in and out, but she knew that she had to conserve her strength for the decisive blow. The time for that blow was quickly arriving, with the approach of the daimyo himself with his "federal troops". But the fight could not occur here - too much destruction had been wrought already. Tsunade shrugged off her Hokage robes and put on her green coat instead. It was a gamble, as usual, and with that kind of power on his side, Tsunade knew that the odds were against her. But then again, she'd always loved having the odds stacked high. If you didn't win big, you didn't win at all. Jiraiya would have snorted though, hearing her say that.

"Don't follow me," she instructed her ANBU guards.

"Hokage-sama-" they protested.

"You'll only get in my way."

With that, she leapt out of the window, heading for the cliffs that loomed over Konoha. Her face was there too, but somehow she'd never felt like it belonged there. Why couldn't they do it after she died? But again, if she died today, then it'd be fine. It was strange. Tsunade was really feeling old today.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN: Tsunade-bachan doesn't look like she's holding up well...Scene: Tsunade on her right knee, holding her bleeding armN: Kuso...I'll kill that pathetic loser!Scene: The daimyo with a smirk on his faceN: Next episode: Fight to the Finish! You can't defeat usScene: Tsunade presses her palms to the ground and trees sprout from it 


	4. Fight to the Finish! You can't defeat us

"What in Gamabunta is going on here? It's total carnage!" Naruto exclaimed. It was night in the village but there were fires burning everywhere and every now and then an explosion lit up the dark sky.

"Tch. Looks like the daimyo's already begun his plan," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke stared at the destruction being wrought. "If I hadn't left Konoha, this would never have happened. It's time for me to make amends."

"Damn right, Sasuke. Let's go!" Naruto cried as he lined both his index and and middle fingers for Kage Bunshin.

"Chouji over there needs my help! I'll see you guys after the battle!" Shikamaru shouted as he dashed off to support his old friend.

Naruto and Sasuke nodded as they began wading their way through enemy after enemy.

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"So, Hokage. I knew you'd come here if I waited long enough," the Fire daimyo smiled at Tsunade as she leapt onto the plateau that overlooked all of Konoha. He wore the glittering battle armour of daimyos - good for conventional combat, but only a cumbersome device in a fight with ninja, where the protection would be insufficient and speed compromised.

"Tell your guards to back off. There's no need for any more needless loss of life," Tsunade replied grimly. It annoyed her to no end that he'd been waiting for her here. It was as if he had a right to step on this sacred ground. This was the keystone of the arch that supported the Fire Country - without it the entire country was nothing. _He_ was nothing. And he had the cheek to step on her grandfather and granduncle and Sarutobi-sensei and Yondaime and her head, like he was in any way superior at all. The cheek of the man!

"My dear Hokage, if you could only hand over Uchiha Sasuke, there won't be any trouble from us at all. We'll leave you to settle your internal problems, as we know Konoha with its awesome power can."

"Your guards don't stand a chance against my ninja."

"But for the safety of the Fire Country, we have no choice but to... tear apart your village if need be. And if we can't find the Uchiha still, then that's just too bad isn't it?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "You can't defeat Konoha. You might kill me, but you'll never take away what belongs to our village."

FIGHT TO THE FINISH! YOU CAN'T DEFEAT USThen she flashed a series of seals and clapped her hands together.

"Mokudon! Jyukai Koudan!"

Instantly, roots began springing out of bare rock, splitting the solid ground to form huge trees that surrounded both of them. The daimyo's guards had no choice but to back off - those who lingered or were slow in escaping were trapped within the twisting branches, crushed or impaled. Those from the outside who tried to enter were impeded by poisoned tendrils and sharp spikes that snapped at them. The daimyo himself had begun to emanate an aura of chakra that prevented any of the roots from reaching him.

"Ah, the Shodaime's Bloodline Limit. I shouldn't be surprised that you could use it - after all, you are his granddaughter. Let's see then if you live up to the name that he created - Hokage!"

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"Kakashi-sensei...you know, you never once treated us to a meal."

"Is that so, Sakura?" Kakashi replied as the once-sensei and student fought back to back. They'd gotten separated from the rest in the heat of battle and now they were cornered, isolated in an alleyway.

"And you've never been early, too, you know that? It was always us waiting for you."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I suggest you take Naruto and I out to a meal one day, and you be early," Sakura said, even as she despaired of ever living through the day. There were just too many of them. Where were they coming from?

"Hey, Sakura! Is it ramen or not? I only want ramen," came the unmistakable voice of Konoha's Number One Loud Ninja.

"Naruto!" Sakura turned in delight at the sound of her friend's arrival. It was Naruto and...

"Sasuke...?" Sakura asked, in a daze. Maybe she was getting a little tired - battle fatigue sometimes got to her.

"Yeah...hope I'm invited too. It's a Team Seven thing, right?" Sasuke replied as he plunged into the heat of battle, next to her.

"You guys...you're late," Kakashi smiled through his mask.

"We got lost on the road of life, sensei!" Naruto replied. They all started laughing amidst the battle. It was just like old times.

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Tsunade was beginning to feel the effects of fighting against a person with virtually limitless energy. The daimyo had almost no skills and his chakra control was an absolute mess. But he did know how to channel and focus chakra in a crude manner, and that was all he needed, with the kind of energy he had access to.

She knew the end was near. Shikamaru's pigeon-borne report had reached her in time, but there was no way she was going to be able to use that jutsu now. She needed help.

Quickly, she backed off and summoned a small slug.

"Go get the brat here. Now. Fast!" The slug liquidated itself, falling over the cliff in a splash, then reformed and continued flowing through the streets of Konoha. Please, let Naruto get here in time. If not all would be for naught. This was the final gambit, then. Now, if only Jiraiya had taught the little brat well - it was, after all, a jutsu that had been used only twice in history, both times by Hokage, and Naruto wasn't particularly good at sealing jutsus.

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Naruto knew he was tired in the same way he knew one plus one equaled to two. He'd barely had a minute's rest from his previous mission when the old hag had sent him out on the search for the scroll. Then he'd fought Orochimaru and sprinted back here, only to engage in a number of exhausting attrition fights. That was when Tsunade's slug came looking for him. He'd never seen slugs move that fast.

But in the same way that he didn't give a hoot whether one plus one equaled two or not, he didn't give a hoot how tired he was. What mattered was that Konoha needed him, and he was going to fight for it.

After the Sound War, news had spread that Naruto had been instrumental in the dismemberment of Akatsuki and the execution of Orochimaru. He was slowly but surely gaining what he wanted most from the people of the village - their acknowledgment. He wouldn't do anything to lose it now. Pretty soon, he thought as he stared up into the five faces that challenged him to come nearer.

_Pretty soon, I'll be up there with you guys. No, I'll be up there above you guys! Just watch and see, Konoha! All of you will know the name Uzumaki Naruto!_

But as he saw the growth of vegetation sprawling over the upper parts of the cliff, Naruto felt the same feeling in his gut as he'd had when he'd seen the barrier drawn up over the Hokage's palace in the Chuunin exam.

_Blood in the air, little boy. Good blood._

_Shut up._

_wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww_

"Hey old hag! You called?" Naruto yelled as he bounded over the top of the cliffs and ducked through the mess of trees. With a quick glance he assessed the situation. Tsunade didn't look good - there were cuts and bruises all over her, but more importantly her skin had reverted to its old, natural form. Her chakra was spent then.

Between them stood the daimyo, who looked none the worse for wear. He grinned at Naruto. "So, Naruto-kun. You defeated those two? You're stronger than I thought. After all, I've heard that you rely too much on your demon chakra - you're not that fantastic are you? You used it against Neji, against Gaara, against Sasuke, against Orochimaru," he said as he counted off his fingers.

"What's two more? You might as well use it against me now. Demons," he mocked, "use demon chakra."

"Shut up!" Naruto howled.

"Naruto," Tsunade gasped. "Ignore him. I need your chakra. There's only one way to stop him."

"Naruto, don't you see?" the daimyo said. "She wants you to do it - so she won't have to die-"

"You shithead...If you think that I'd fall for that, then you're even more of an idiot than I am," Naruto replied with feral grin on his face.

Despite herself, Tsunade smiled. So Naruto knew the plan. Her entire fight up till now had had two objectives: to stall while Naruto came with his chakra reserves and to deplete the daimyo's own stamina so that he would be more vulnerable to the jutsu. The chakra required by the jutsu corresponded directly with the chakra level of the target – the more powerful the target, the more powerful the user had to be. In this case, the only person who had a hope of performing the full jutsu was Naruto and his kyuubi chakra. Tsunade shuddered as she thought of what would happen if they were unable to perform the jutsu in its entirety.

The level of trust the boy displayed amazed her to no end, even after knowing him for so long. She'd known that Naruto somehow managed to always see the best side of people, but to feel the direct effect of that trust made her love the boy even more. In some ways the Kyuubi had done him good - it'd given him an empathy and maturity beyond his years, allowing him to surpass and transcend all the petty squabbles and ugly self-centredness ordinary people possessed, simply because he understood what it was like to be in pain. But it wasn't just his empathy, Tsunade thought as she watched Naruto fight his way to her side, ignoring the devastating blows of chakra the daimyo was raining on his body. He was probably thinking that he had to get to her fast, and the fastest way was the straightest way. Whether it was the most painful way or not didn't matter at all.

Tsunade's mind flashed briefly back to that time, six years ago, when he'd stood in front of her, protecting her from Kabuto. He'd grown a lot, but in some ways he hadn't changed at all. He still wanted to be Hokage, he still had that awesome determination and most importantly, an unquenchable flame of hope. Naruto, Tsunade realised for the first time, exemplified the spirit of Konoha. It didn't matter that he didn't have a bloodline limit, or that he wasn't a genius - he was the best amongst them all, herself included.

"Naruto, are you ready?" Tsunade asked as she entered a series of complicated seals.

"Boy, she's making use of you. You're going to be trapped in eternal hell! " the daimyo persuaded, a tone of desperation creeping into his voice.

"Yeah...so what?" came the cocky, confident reply.

Then Tsunade saw to her amazement that Naruto was casting the jutsu as well.

"Naruto, don't be stupid! I'll do it - I just need your chakra!" Tsunade cried.

"Hey," Naruto said to her without turning around. "You're not thinking very straight are you, _Hokage-sama_?"

"Fu-" Naruto began, then suddenly, before he could react, the daimyo had appeared right before him and punched him in the gut so that he flew out over the cliff.

"No! That's why he stopped for so long - he was building up his chakra! No good!" Tsunade thought as the daimyo walked slowly, inevitably up to where she lay, prone and immobile on the ground.

The world slowed around hiim. Naruto could only watch helplessly as the daimyo plunged a blade of chakra into Tsunade's heart. First Sarutobi, then Jiraiya, and now Tsunade…he was going to kill the bastard!

Blinking back the tears, he henge-ed his Kage Bunshin into pieces of wood, allowing him to step back onto the cliff. As he landed, he used the momentum of the tumble to increase the power of his Rasengan, so that as he brought his right palm into the daimyo's body, he could have sworn his fingers went straight through. But he didn't get to see, as the daimyo flew nearly a hundred metres back, his back snapping against the trunk of a tree.

Naruto gathered Tsunade in his arms. "Godaime-sama," he said through the mist of tears. "Godaime-sama...hold on. I'll call Sakura. She'll have you fixed in no time."

"Naruto...I want you to have this," Tsunade reached into her pocket to remove the Hokage's personal seal. "I want your face next to mine."

"No! I don't want it! Stay with me a while more..."

"Naruto - could you call me...sister, just this once. I want to hear you call me..." Tsunade wheezed.

"Tsunade...ne-chan..."

"Nawaki...you've really grown," Tsunade smiled as she closed her eyes. "Sarutobi-sensei...Jiraiya...Orochimaru...I've come..." With that, the greatest medical ninja Konoha had ever seen passed into death.

Naruto howled into the night. But the stars only twinkled back at him, offering him no comfort from his pain.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWKakashi as voiceover: Old man, you were right after allScene: Kakashi standing in front of Hero MonumentK: Are we just like leaves, then?Same sceneK: Or are we...?N: Next episode: Hokage's Sacrifice. The Brightest FlameScene: Kyuubi against the dawning sun 


	5. Hokage's Sacrifice: The Brightest Flame

_Boy. Let me out. Let's go. We'll kill the bastard. _

_Listen. You're not all that bad. I'm gonna let you go if you promise me one thing._

_Boy, what the hell? What're you talking about?_ Kyuubi's tone grew confused.

_Shut up. I'm serious this time. You lend me your chakra for this final time. I'll let you go if you promise me now that you'll protect my village if it ever needs your help._

_Boy, what's happening? What're you planning? You can't be-_

_Do you promise or not?_

_-I promise. _

_Very good. Now, give me all you've got. It's the last thing I'll ever ask of you._

HOKAGE'S SACRIFICE. THE BRIGHTEST FLAME

Naruto began glowing. His blue chakra, immense as it was, slowly became engulfed by the seemingly limitless red chakra.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" the Fire daimyo asked. His stomach had been totally ripped apart - there was no way he could stand anymore, much less use seals.

"Shikamaru will destroy the scroll. The only thing left that can be done...is to seal you up," Naruto said as he began the series of seals again.

"No...wait. You don't have to do this. Let me go. I'll declare you Hokage. I'll never bother you again. I'll declare that I'd made a mistake, that this was all a misunderstanding cleared up by you, the new Hokage. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To be Hokage?" the daimyo's tone had grown hysterical in its fear and desperation. "Please! Don't do it! You'll gain nothing from it! Please!"

"I'll gain nothing. But Konoha will gain peace. And the land will have lost a jutsu that could destroy it."

"Hokage-sama! Please, Hokage-sama! Spare me!" He was begging and crying like a little child now. It sickened Naruto that so much had been lost because of this man. So much...including his own dreams.

"I've always wanted to be Hokage. Ever since I can remember, it's been my dream. I worked so hard for it." As Naruto spoke, he took a glance through the trees at the village that lay at his feet. Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino, combining their talents to herd the creatures into a small area; Lee retreating with Neji on his back, Gaara covering them with his sand; Hinata, protecting the Hyuuga household; Tenten protecting the children in the Academy; Shino and Kiba fighting back to back while Gai somehow managed to find time for a nice-guy pose; and his beloved Team Seven, fighting for their lives, for their village, for him, because they knew that they'd finally be together again if they lived through the night. It was the village he'd grown up in, the village he swore he would make acknowledge him, the village he loved.

And he'd come so close. For the second time that night, Naruto had to fight to hold back the tears. He'd come so close.

"I've always wanted to be Hokage. I've always wanted everyone to acknowledge me. But Shikamaru's always wanted to get married, get old and die peacefully. Lee's always wanted to be a great ninja with only taijutsu. Neji's always wanted to change Hyuuga. Kakashi-sensei's always wanted to finish the Icha Icha series. Sakura's always wanted to have Sasuke back. Sasuke's always wanted to come back...and so many others. So you see, the only way they can have what they've always wanted, is if I end this now. And this is the only way to end it." Naruto stared sadly at the daimyo, but with a tranquility within him that rang with the acknowledgement of his ultimate destiny.

"Fuuin Jutsu - Shiki Fuujin."

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Dawn spread its warm light over all of Konoha. All looked up as they saw the image of a nine-tailed fox form over the cliffs, roaring once then dispersing into the golden rays of the sun. It was as if all the trees were on fire, burning with a glorious flame that would never go out.

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The creatures began dissolving into gruesome puddles of biological fluid. The daimyo's troops mounted a hasty retreat. With the coming of dawn, the nightmare was finally over, dissolved like the morning mists. Just as quickly and suddenly as it had begun, the civil war was over, leaving in its wake a devastated Konoha, but a Konoha that was alive nonetheless.

Survivors began the slow process of damage assessment, while the Emergency Council and several other ninja gathered at the top of the cliffs, which had now been overrun by Tsunade's jutsu.

"Godaime-sama and...Uzumaki Naruto. No other bodies," Shizune reported as she checked their pulse.

A ninja spoke up. "So the bastard ran. Godaime-sama wasn't able to defeat him then. But at least she took down the little demon. He probably wanted to be Hokage so much and saw that this was his- "

Before he could finish his sentence, Six different fatal points on his body had been covered by kunai or hands ready to strike, while the rest of his body was wrapped in sand that was beginning to contract. Lee, without lowering the foot aimed at the ninja's sternum, said politely, "I'd advise you not to complete the sentence."

Kakashi spoke up. "Guys."

Sasuke turned to look at his former sensei, then lowered the kunai from the ninja's throat. Neji back away, withdrawing his Jyuuken-stance fingers away from his left eye as a couple of Shino's destruction bugs flew out from each of his ears. Lee lowered his leg while Akamaru pounced back into Kiba's jacket. A shadowy hand slid from his throat, melding back into Shikamaru's shadow. Sand flowed down from all over his body, retracting into Gaara's gourd. The ninja was left a shivering mess on the floor.

"Go take a break below," Kakashi told him. He promptly obeyed.

Shikamaru shook his head as he understood the implications of what Naruto had done. He'd sacrificed not only his life but his reputation, which he held to even more dearly, as well. Without the body of the daimyo as evidence, no one would ever know for sure the sequence of events. But Shikamaru had a pretty decent idea, as he explained to the Emergency Council.

"With the portal already open, even death wouldn't be able to close it. If the daimyo was merely killed, the buggers we were fighting would continue living, if living's the word to use. Their destruction energy would still be able to flow through his soul. The only way to totally seal the portal was to seal the soul. And there's only one jutsu any of us know which can do that permanently and only one person with enough chakra to pull it off against the daimyo. Naruto- He-" And Shikamaru cried for the second time in his life. Because he knew that most of them didn't believe him. He'd let his friend down.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Kakashi stood at the Monument of Heroes. The ceremony was about to begin, but he couldn't bring himself to go. It was always like that - he'd think about the meaningless things people did, the meaningless things he'd done, and he'd regret.

The Council had overridden his request for Naruto to be granted at least a hero's burial. Without sufficient evidence, they'd said, we can't know if he was hero or traitor. We won't run the risk of declaring him a hero when evidence indicates otherwise. Uzumaki Naruto will not have his name on the Hero Monument.

Kakashi looked at up the gathering clouds. It was going to rain again, just like it did years ago. His mind drifted into the past.

_"Iruka-sensei...What are humans? Is life just that simple?" Naruto asked._

_"When people die, they lose everything - their past, their present, their future. But everyone knows that the most important thing is to die for a cause. Family, friends, lovers, and all the other villagers - to me, those are the most important people. We trust each other, help each other...From the day we're born till the day we die, we start to treasure love. And that kind of relationship takes time to develop. Anyone with this headband on knows...because it's very important," Iruka replied._

_"Yeah, I know that as well," Naruto said as he stared on ahead. "But death is still painful."_

_"The Hokage wouldn't think it's painful. Because we all agree that people shouldn't be hurt for no reason," Kakashi told him. "But it's no use even if you do understand," he added cryptically._

_"Right!" Naruto turned back to look at his sensei. "But not knowing is still better than knowing."_

"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns and the fire of the shadow illuminates the village. Old man, you sure had it right, didn't you?" Kakashi muttered to himself as it began to pour. "But that idiot – in the end his fire burnt brightest for the blind. That idiot."

The raindrops ran down his cheeks. He adjusted his mask slightly, feeling dampness in his Sharingan.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

"Sensei! Who are the five people in the mountain?" a little ninja asked.

"Them? They're the past Hokage of this village," his instructor replied.

"What's a Hokage?" the ninja asked.

"I know! " his friend told him sagely. "They're the strongest and most powerful ninja of their time."

"And more than that," their instructor added, "They're the ones who inherit the will of Konoha. They're the ones who've sworn to protect the village no matter what."

"Cool! I want to be Hokage too!" the little ninja exclaimed excitedly.

But his friend continued staring at the faces thoughtfully.

"Sensei, who's that in the trees above them? Whose face is that?"

Their instructor peered at the strange forest that had sprung over the cliffs. It had never lost its shape as far as he could remember, since it was formed by the Fifth Hokage during the civil war. If you looked hard enough, you could sometimes see a grinning, whiskered face sketched by the trees and their branches.

"That's the greatest ninja ever to have lived in Konoha. He's the one who surpassed all the Hokage," the instructor smiled as he adjusted his goggles and straightened his long, spiky brown hair.

END

Thanks for reading till the end. It was great fun writing this fic! Hope you all had as much fun reading it! All criticisms and comments welcome...and I'd almost forgotten: Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto and his gang. Hopefully this is enough as disclaimers go. Lastly, a big thank-you to those who reviewed (will review?) - they meant a lot to me! 


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